Thunderblast Weekly
January 17, 2021
Equity
Equity means that every child gets what he or she needs to succeed, as opposed to everyone gets the same thing.
-Alan Blankstein
I love keeping it light and talking sports, but I have struggled to do this since March with so many significant events impacting us all. We will continue to focus on improving and reaching all students and meeting them where they are in the context of Seneca Ridge, the Dominion Cluster, and with current events in our nation. If you have ideas or thoughts, please reach out. I am always available for a call.
Next week's theme: Celebrations! We are strong. We are proud. We are resilient. Let's celebrate some of the beauty in this community. We deserve it. We can even start by highlighting some of the amazing concerts from our music department.
The Winter Choral Showcase includes vocal recordings from 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Chorus, as well as slides to give a taste of what our choral students have been learning this year! We're very proud of them for learning new music over Google Meet, practicing on their own, and then recording their voices, so that we can sing "together" during the holiday season!
The 7th Grade Band was chosen to experiment with a virtual band performance during online learning! The students worked hard to learn their own individual parts, along with a back track, to put together a “virtual” concert! We are very proud of their success and are looking forward to attempting this with our 6th and 8th grade bands as well as our 7th and 8th grade guitar ensembles. Check it out here!
Important Information
Building Operation: Seneca’s building will be closed from Monday- Wednesday (January 18-20) due to upcoming holidays and the teacher work day. Staff will be available to work with you on Tuesday January 19. We will be answering phones on Tuesday and Wednesday.
New Schedule NOT BEGINNING YET: You may have seen on social media that middle schools will be using their hybrid schedules starting at the beginning of the new semester. The main change for us will be 3 different lunch shifts. We will not be changing our schedule until we begin hybrid. I will communicate the changes well in advance.
School Photo Schedule: We will be doing photos next Monday, January 25. NEW PLAN! Parents will enter Seneca’s parking lot, drive through our bus loop, and pull up around the main gym. Parents stay in the car while students come in and out (staff will be outside guiding you). Families will exit out Dominion's bus loop to Augusta. We will provide a visual with more information next week. Walkers welcome! Come directly to the gym.
If you cannot make your scheduled time, you can come at the best time for your family.
Last Names
A - E _____8:00 - 9:00
F - J _____9:00 - 10:00
K - O _____11:00 - 12:00
P - T______1:00 - 2:00
U - Z______2:00 - 3:00
ELL Testing: ACCESS for ELLs testing will take place at Seneca Ridge on January 25 and February 22. These tests are required for ELL students that have scored level 1.0-4.3 on last year's test. Refer to Mr. Seipt's Wednesday email for more information. Parents - please let us know how your child is going to get to school so that we can plan for their arrival:
Yearbooks: The yearbook will be soft cover so we can keep the costs down at $20 each. Information below.
100% Distant Learning to Start the 2nd Semester (January 21): Thank you to all of you who attended the coffee and cocoa on Wednesday. Great questions about the end of the quarter, internet content filtering, and concurrent learning. I’m happy we were able to touch upon equity at Seneca and in the news. We will continue to focus on this important topic as we attempt to be there for all students, staff, and families. Here is the recording if you are interested.
United Mental Health Team (UMHT): The UMHT recently received several additional resources to support families during this unprecedented time. Please check out some of the free webinars being offered!
- The Department of Pupil Services will present a virtual Mental Health and Wellness Conference, “Navigating the Path to Student Wellness” from 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 30. More information and registration can be found here: Loudoun County Public Schools Mental Health and Wellness Conference. (Attendance may be limited due to capacity.)
- In addition, LCPS is collaborating with Inova to present the “Act on Addiction Summit,” a series of presentations offered January 25-29. For more information, please visit: http://inova.events/AOASummit
- A Place To BE is offering another free program of weekly, 30-minute telehealth sessions for LCPS students experiencing social and emotional difficulties due to ongoing disruptions caused by the pandemic.Although these sessions will be run by Board-Certified music therapists, A Place To Be is not providing therapy sessions. These shorter “In-Tune” sessions deliver interventions designed to navigate stress and the mounting impacts that the ongoing pandemic and related life changes are having on our students. The sessions will give students techniques to improve their ability to cope, gain calm and help them process what’s happening around them and inside of their own minds and emotions (for a detailed presentation, click here). Here is a one-minute video explaining their offering to LCPS families.
- Back to School Frustrations Webinar
- To view more information from our Counseling Team & UMHT, please click here.
PBIS Highlights
8th Grade, Wennie Luu
THANK YOU for showing OWNERSHIP during independent work time and volunteering your thoughts and ideas when called upon!
7th Grade, Carlos Martinez
THANK YOU for showing OWNERSHIP by having your camera on and attending office hours on Mondays!
6th Grade, Daniel Pope
THANK YOU for your leadership and CONFIDENCE in sharing your story during National Inclusion Week was inspirational!
7th Grade, Sanaa Bakhtary
6th Grade, Ava Albanese
Staff of the Week
Ms.Gerling
Ms.Choudhury
THANK YOU for your tireless dedication to our students through announcements, dance team, PBIS and Equity support, and always being a positive presence.
PTO Corner
Something to Ponder: Equity means that every child gets what he or she needs to succeed, as opposed to everyone gets the same thing. -- Alan Blankstein
PRS & SEAC: Parent Resource Services and the Special Education Advisory Committee offer a wealth of information for LCPC families. The next SEAC meeting will be February 3, 2021 at 6 pm and feature a presentation on Hidden Disabilities and Executive Functioning presented by Dr. Madhu Boland of MindWell Psychology. PRS is having several presentations this month including a Mental Health and Wellness Conference on January 30. To sign up for PRS' newsletter visit their website. For more information on SEAC please visit their website, or email our SEAC Representative, Jill Pope, directly.
Next PTO Meeting: Wednesday, January 27 at 6:00 pm. Go to meet.google.com/uek-nfni-inx. Or join by phone at +1 617-675-4444 with PIN: 835 053 291 7550#
Other ways to get involved:
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
- Make a donation to the SRMS PTO and get your company to match it
- Download the Boxtops for Education app and scan your grocery receipts
- Link your Amazon account to Seneca and earn free money for the school
- Purchase Seneca Gear to show your school spirit!
Attendance
How to Report Absences
In Parent VUE- Reporting an Absence in ParentVUE (preferred option)
Please submit before 8:30am-
Friendly reminder, after 8:30am the system automatically denies the request because attendance has been taken by a teacher and you will be notified.
Click here (don’t forget to put your child’s first and last name)
Call our Attendance line- 571-434-4422 (least preferred option)
Important Reminders
Class of 2025 Information Night: Save the date, Monday, January 25th, for a virtual meeting for students and parents in the Dominion High School Class of 2025 to learn about the course selection process for freshmen year. This meeting will begin in English at 7pm and will repeat in Spanish at 8pm. More details will be forthcoming. Specific information about how to log in to the meeting will be available prominently on the Dominion High School website and will be sent via Blackboard Connect later this week.
Monday’s Schedule: Save
Advisory: 9:00-9:15AM
Office Hours:
1:00-2:00PM Math, SS, World Languages, FACS, Tech Ed, Art
2:00-3:00PM English, Science, Health & PE, Music
Technology Support
As we transition support to in our building (when possible) or at Dominion High School, the best way to reach out for support is to contact your grade level administrative assistant.
6th Grade- Jennifer.Ramos@lcps.org or 571-434-4426
7th Grade- kelly.dales@lcps.org or 571-434-4427
8th Grade- Mimi.Chung@lcps.org or 571-434-4428
Check us out!
Email: nick.cottone@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/Page/30563
Location: 98 Seneca Ridge Drive, Sterling, VA, USA
Phone: 571-434-4420
Twitter: @SRMS_Official